Adjustable stilt construction



June 29, 1965 R. s. CHRISTENSEN ETAL 3,191,931

ADJUSTABLE STILT CONSTRUCTION Filed July 2, 1962 vim m m INVENTORS.

m ld m mi M BY 7 MM United States Patent 3,191,931 ADJUSTABLE STILT CONSTRUCTION Robert S. Christensen, 513 Merchant St., and Leo C. Pierscinski, 341 Neil St., both of Vacaville, Calif. Filed July 2, 1962, Ser. No. 206,621 2 Claims. (Cl. 272-70.1)

The invention relates to adjustable stilts and, more particularly, to stilts having both adjustable foot supports and adjustable hand supports.

Many kinds of adjustable stilts have made their appearance, both in the patent literature and in the market place. In general, these earlier devices have served their purposes moderately well. A common difliculty, however, particularly for a novice, has been the tendency of the stilt to rotate about its own longitudinal axis when the users foot exerts against the foot support a force having a horizontal component. This horizontal component ordinarily arises when the user is walking and the stilts are inclined somewhat.

The horizontal force acting through a moment arm measured by the distance between the longitudinal axis and the center of force on the foot support creates a torque etfort which tends to twist the stilt in the users hand and, unless opposed, thefoot support will rotate into inoperative position, and dislodge the users foot from the support.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an adjustable stilt construction which enables the user readily and easily to overcome the torque created by the users foot.

It is another object to provide a stilt having particularly good stability.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an adjustable stilt construction which is versatile in use in that with one setting of the hand and foot supports two height settings are available merely by reversing the stilts, end for end.

It is yet a further object of the invention to provide an adjustable stilt construction in which the adjustments can be made quickly and securely.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide an adjustable stilt construction which is relatively light and economical and yet is sturdy and highly resistant to impact forces.

It is another object of the invention to provide a generally improved adjustable stilt construction.

Other objects, together with the foregoing, are attained in the embodiment described in the following description and illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a pair of stilts showing a preferred embodiment of the adjustable stilt construct-ion;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view;

FIGURE 3 is a top (or bottom) plan view;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary median vertical section, to an enlarged scale, of a standle (the term standle referring interchangeably either to the foot stand or to the handle),

the plane of the section being indicated by the line 4--4 in FIG. 1; and

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary median horizontal section to an enlarged scale, of a standle, the plane of the section being indicated by the line 5-5 in FIG. 1.

While the adjustable stilt construction of the invention is susceptible of numerous physical embodiments, depending upon the environment and requirements of use, substantial numbers of the herein shown and described embodiment have been made and used and all have performed in an eminently satisfactory manner.

The adjustable stilt construction of the invention, generally designated by the reference numeral 12, comprises 3,191,931 Patented June 29, 1965 a pair of vertical standards 13, preferably of tubular aluminum material. Mounted on the tip ends of each of the standards is a resilient cap 14, the cap preferably being of the variety having a hollow interior or recess 16 (see FIG. 3) to provide a superior shock-absorbing and non-skid effect.

Serving to support the users feet is a pair of foot supports 21, or 'foot stands, aligned and facing toward each other, in customary fashion.

The foot stands 21 are secured at the desired height above the bottom ends of the stilts, the segment of the standards between the bottom caps 14 and the foot stands 21 being termed a bottom portion 22.

In addition to the foot stands 21, there is also provided a pair of hand supports 26, or handles, the handles being adjustably mounted on the standards at the desired distance below the top caps, this segment being termed a top portion 27. The stilt segment between the foot stands 21 and the handles 26 is termed a medial or intermediate portion 28.

For convenience of terminology and description, the foot stands 21 and the handles 26 are referred to interchangeably as standles, collectively designated by ref erence numeral 25 in FIGS. 4 and 5. Standles is a coined word. The basis for using the word standles, interchangeably is, first, that the construction of the foot stands is identical to that of the handles and, secondly, that by turning the stiltes upside down, the foot supports become handles and the handles become foot supports. It will also be apparent that for this same reason a change in the height of the foot supports can quickly be efiected merely by turning the stilts end for end, pro vided the length of the portions 22 and 27 are unequal.

As appears most clearly in FIGS. 4 and 5, the standles 25 include a tubular horizontal member 31 having an outer diameter somewhat greater than the outer diameter of the tubular standard 13, the standard 13 passing vertically through an opening 32 formed in the standle tube 31. If desired, although not shown, the distal ends of the standles can be plugged or capped.

Clamping or locking of the standle 25 t0 the stilt standard 13 is effected by rotation of a locking knob element 33. The locking knob includes a cylindrical abutment member 34 movable inwardly and outward as a threaded portion of the knob, which is in engagement with internal threads 37 on the adjacent end of the standle tube 31 is screwed in or out. Rotation of the knob element is conveniently effected by a knurled handle 41 connected to the threaded portion 36 by a stem 42.

The cylindrical abutment member 34 moves in and out in the cylindral axial bore 44 of the standle tube and, when moved inwardly by apropriate rotation of the locking handle 41, urges ahead of it a cylindrical locking slug 46. The slug 46 has formed on its leading edge an arcuate recess 47 adapted partially to encompass the standard tube 13 (see FIG. 5). In other words, the slug 46 engages the tube 13 and clamps the tube against the far walls of the vertical opening 32 in the standle tube 31. Locking is thereby effected.

Under some circumstances, a washer member 51 is interposed between the abutment plate 34 and the slug 46. The washer member 51 is preferably of a resilient material, such as rubber, or of a hard material having a low coefficient of friction, such as Teflon. In either case, the interposed washer helps somewhat to break the seal between the locking and the locked elements and to permit the locking knob to be readily backed out a short distance so that readjustment of the standle can readily be effected.

As can be visualized most clearly by reference to FIGURE 2, the user, standing on the right and facing toward the stilts, steps up on the foot supports 21 and concurrently grasps the handles 26. The plane of the handles 26 is located approximately ninety degrees from the plane of the foot supports, depending on the preference and convenience of the user. By gripping the handles in such a Way that the upper portions 13 of the standards touch the back of the users shoulders, a very secure bracing effect is achieved, lending stability to the user.

As the user walks on the stilts and the bottoms of the stilts are successively advanced in the direction of motion, the torque created by the horizontal component of force exerted by the users foot on the foot support is readily resisted by appropriate counterforce exerted by the users hand, which grips the handle, the handle acting, in other words as a lever or moment arm.

It can therefore be seen that we have provided a highly stable, versatile and quickly adjustable stilt construction.

What is claimed is:

1. An adjustable stilt construction comprising:

(a) a pair of vertical hollow tubes having resilient cupped tips mounted on the ends thereof;

(b) a pair of horizontal foot supports adjustably mounted on said tubes adjacent the bottom ends thereof for selective location at equal heights above said bottom ends; and,

(c) a pair of horizontal hand supports adjustably mounted on said tubes adjacent the upper ends thereof for selective location at equal distances from said upper ends, said foot supports and said hand supports each comprising an elongated horizontal member having a vertical opening to receive said tube, there being a cylindrical axial bore extending from one end of said member to said tube, the end portion of said member being interiorly threaded, a threaded locking knob adapted to engage the interior threads of said member and to extend through said bore in a direction toward said tube, and a cylindrical locking slug slidably disposed within said bore, said slug having an arcuate recess formed therein to encompass a portion of said tube, said locking slug being engaged and urged by said locking knob as said knob is screwed toward said tube.

2. The device of claim 1 further characterized by a resilient washer interposed between said slug and said knob.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 680,454 8/01 Garretson 27270.1 1,170,684 2/ 16 Schlieckert 248230 FOREIGN PATENTS 455,140 2/50 Italy. 1,150,548 8/57 France.

RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner. 

1. AN ADJUSTABLE STILT CONSTRUCTION COMPRISING: (A) A PAIR OF VERTICAL HOLLOW TUBES HAVING RESILIENT CUPPED TIPS MOUNTED ON THE ENDS THEREOF; (B) A PAIR OF HORIZONTAL FOOT SUPPORTS ADJUSTABLY MOUNTED ON SAID TUBES ADJACENT THE BOTTOM ENDS THEREOF FOR SELECTIVE LOCATION AT EQUAL HEIGHTS ABOVE SAID BOTTOM ENDS; AND, (C) A PAIR OF HORIZONTAL HAND SUPPORTS ADJUSTABLY MOUNTED ON SAID TUBES ADJACENT THE UPPER ENDS THEREOF FOR SELECTIVE LOCATION AT EQUAL DISTANCES FROM SAID UPPER ENDS, SAID FOOT SUPPORTS AND SAID HAND SUPPORTS EACH COMPRISING AN ELONGATED HORIZONTAL MEMBER HAVING A VERTICAL OPENING TO RECEIVE SAID TUBE, THERE BEING A CYLINDRICAL AXIAL BORE EXTENDING FROM ONE END OF SAID MEMBER TO SAID TUBE, THE END PORTION OF SAID MEMBER BEING INTERIORLY THREADED, A THREADED LOCKING KNOB ADAPTED TO ENGAGE THE INTERIOR THREADS OF SAID MEMBER AND TO EXTEND THROUGH SAID BORE IN A DIRECTION TOWARD SAID TUBE, AND A CYLINDRICAL LOCKING SLUG SLIDABLY DISPOSED WITHIN SAID BORE, SAID SLUG HAVING AN ARCUATE RECESS FORMED THEREIN TO ENCOMPASS A PORTION OF SAID TUBE, SAID LOCKING SLUG BEING ENGAGED AND URGING BY SAID LOCKING KNOB AS SAID KNOB IS SCREWED TOWARD SAID TUBE. 